Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Martlet on January 23, 2008, 10:21:02 AM
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I was told to post this here.
I need a new gaming rig. I haven't upgraded my home built in a few years, so I probably should upgrade everything. Someone suggested this bare bones (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3570023&Sku=M452-2840%20G) that I could pick up a HD and new monitor for.
Does anyone have any links/suggestions?
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I'd go with a good 600 watt power supply, and the 8400 card is a pretty low end card. Even my old X850 places higher than it on the "Toms Hardware" charts.
as for suggestions....well that depends on how "handy" you are, and what kind of money you want to spend.
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I'm leaning towards:
Acer AL2216WBD 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Ultra-fast 5ms
Altec Lansing VS3251 6-Piece Gaming 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
AMD A64 X2 5400+ 2.80GHz OEM
MSI K9N4 SLI-F Motherboard
OCZ Platinum 2048MB PC6400
(2) XFX GeForce 8400 GS 512MB
Ultra 400-Watt XVS PSU
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB Hard Drive - 7200
Thermaltake / Ruby Orb
$870 shipped
Opinions? What would you change
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I would go with an Intel Core 2 CPU rather than an AMD dual-core CPU. Bang for the buck and all that rot.
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Originally posted by Martlet
(2) XFX GeForce 8400 GS 512MB
Ultra 400-Watt XVS PSU
Opinions? What would you change
As Skuzzy said, stick with a C2D. Upcoming price cuts are on the way as well with Intel.
2 low end graphics cards in SLI DO NOT = 1 high end graphics card. So, do not expect wonders out of the 8400, which is really really low end out of the 8xxx series. Read this article and figure out what you want to spend $ on a graphics card. It will give you the best card for the money.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/03/the_best_gaming_graphics/
For the PSU, I would get a larger PSU. Spend at least $100 on a quality brand. The wattage/amperage you need will mainly be determined on the video card you select. Let us know what video card you select and we'll be able to tell you what you need power wise. 400 watts is skimpy and do not skimp on quality. Remember, a PSU is supplying power to all the components in your computer. Too many times I've seen the $20-30 varities fry high end equipment after only a few months.
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Thanks. Most of that was a bare bones system that came as a package. I suppose I'll have to piece it out, then, rather than save a few bucks.
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Originally posted by Martlet
Thanks. Most of that was a bare bones system that came as a package. I suppose I'll have to piece it out, then, rather than save a few bucks.
That barebones system had 2 x 8400's eh? Anyways, barebones system almost always have cheap cheap cheap PSUs.
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Originally posted by Fulmar
That barebones system had 2 x 8400's eh? Anyways, barebones system almost always have cheap cheap cheap PSUs.
Yep. This was what was included in the bare bones system, plus a case. The rest I added.
AMD A64 X2 5400+ 2.80GHz OEM
MSI K9N4 SLI-F Motherboard
OCZ Platinum 2048MB PC6400
(2) XFX GeForce 8400 GS 512MB
Ultra 400-Watt XVS PSU
However, since much of that has been nixed by the collective hive mind, it looks like I'll be better off finding a place to price it out individually.
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told ya they'd help ;)
I'd agree with most everything said, but even pricing it out separately you should be in decent shape $800-$1000 for a "high end" rig to play AH.
just remember stay away from Vi$ta :D
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Take a look at Toad's recent thread on the same subject.
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Originally posted by Skuzzy
I would go with an Intel Core 2 CPU rather than an AMD dual-core CPU. Bang for the buck and all that rot.
How about an intel 2 quad core?
Intel® Core™2 Quad desktop processor Q6600 with 4 processing cores, 2MB L2 cache and 2.4GHz processor speed per core
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Originally posted by Martlet
How about an intel 2 quad core?
Aces High is not coded to use all 4 cores. Few games are coded to use 4 cores. Some applications in graphics, rendering, modeling etc. etc. are encoded for 4 cores since they are very CPU intensive.
If AH is your main game of play, stick with a Core 2 Duo. For $280 (what a Q6600 quad core costs) you can get the E6850 Core 2 Duo which will be faster than the Q6600 in games coded for only 2 cores. Quad cores may be more 'future-proof', but their need is not immediate right now. Since the current quad cores and dual cores use the same socket 775, you can buy a dual core now and upgrade to a quad core later w/o need a new motherboard. However, I'd picked a motherboard that supports a 1333mhz Front Side Bus. The newest Intel's processor are using that speed, while older ones use 1066mhz. So a motherboard that has a 1333mhz FSB will again give you a little more future proof expansion to a faster processor.
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Sometimes it's a foreign language to me. We used to have a shop by my house where they kept track of everything I'd purchased. It was a wholesale shop, and I could walk in and they'd make suggestions. I loved that place.
It looks like I won't be able to build on a bare bones system. There is too much that needs to by changed. I'll have to just start from scratch, unless I find a pre-built system.
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Stay away from SLI. You cannot imagine a more sure way to waste your money.
For the price of two cheap cards you can get a single card that will perform way better than the two cards in SLI.
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Originally posted by MrRiplEy[H]
Stay away from SLI. You cannot imagine a more sure way to waste your money.
For the price of two cheap cards you can get a single card that will perform way better than the two cards in SLI.
Someone needs to make a website that actually plays games, and says "this is what you need to buy. Click here".
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Originally posted by Martlet
[
It looks like I won't be able to build on a bare bones system. There is too much that needs to by changed. I'll have to just start from scratch, unless I find a pre-built system. [/B]
This is almost identical to my comp, but I upgraded to 750 w PS cuz it was on sale. Tiger direct $999.00.
CyberPower Infinity 7360.
# Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
# MSI P6N SLI-FI nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
# 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
# 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
# Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express
# CoolerMaster Hyper TX2 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan
# 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
# 16X DVD-ROM
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Originally posted by Dragon
This is almost identical to my comp, but I upgraded to 750 w PS cuz it was on sale. Tiger direct $999.00.
CyberPower Infinity 7360.
# Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
# MSI P6N SLI-FI nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
# 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
# 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
# Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express
# CoolerMaster Hyper TX2 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan
# 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
# 16X DVD-ROM
How does it perform? Do you play other games on it? Maybe I'll just dupe yours instead of trying to figure my own out.
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Originally posted by Martlet
Someone needs to make a website that actually plays games, and says "this is what you need to buy. Click here".
Check http://www.tomshardware.com and http://www.hardocp.com the latter uses only in-game testing with hardware.
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Originally posted by Dragon
# MSI P6N SLI-FI nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
# 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
The 650i is a good chipset, just a little older. Same chipset in my Asus P5N-E SLI board. The new P35 chipsets from Intel will benchmark faster. A limitation with the 650 SLI chipset is that it doesnt allow for 16x PCI-E in SLI mode, only a max of 8x. However, these are minor details (for you) and really doesn't matter a whole lot.
I'd like to know the brand of that HDD in that computer. I recommend Seagate mainly for their 5 year warranty.
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I used this as a basic list but I did use the Asus P5NE-SLI board after doing some investigation, dropped down to 300GB hard drive, 2GB Crucial mem, and had enough for the 22" Samsung 2 ms while staying under $1,200 limit the ACK set for me. Frame rate is maxed by the size of monitor to 60 and I've never seen it drop below 58. Changing down to 1280 x 768 can do steady 70-75, but bigger is better. Do Solitaire and MahJong count as other games? Run a few other games, but nothing too intense. Vista home premium. Just can't get profiler to work with X52, but not really needed. You may want to look into newer chipset as stated, but I'm not sure if they fixed the issues with the 680 chipsets yet.
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Power supply, get a much bigger one. I doubt that one would run the SLI.
You'd be better off with one very good video card. May I suggest ATI 3870 or 3850?
I use an AMD duo core and it seems to work pretty good. However, from what I have read and heard since. Intel is the way to go.
Also, you have to do an enormous amount of tweaking with the AMD. I really struggled. Spent weeks sorting it out.
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I'm not a tweaker. I also don't know much. Maybe I can find a shop around here or a website where someone says "here, buy this, it's what you need".
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You can't have a perfect AH computer, cuz you might as well do the Chevy, Ford, Mopar thing on every component down to the cooling fans. Just get something and if is screws up and makes your life miserable, be sure to post your findings so others can help out or learn what not to do.
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After everyone's suggestions and a LOT of help from Lambo, this is my new list. Could you tweak it for me?
NewEgg wish list (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=7814566&WishListTitle=AHII)
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Originally posted by Martlet
After everyone's suggestions and a LOT of help from Lambo, this is my new list. Could you tweak it for me?
NewEgg wish list (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=7814566&WishListTitle=AHII)
Everything looks good. Only thing I would mention is that LCD you have has speakers. Do you have your own set of older speakers you want to use? Or perhaps you use headphones/headset? If you do, I'd pick a LCD w/o speakers built into it.
Speakers built into monitors are like laptop speakers...they all suck.
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Originally posted by Fulmar
Everything looks good. Only thing I would mention is that LCD you have has speakers. Do you have your own set of older speakers you want to use? Or perhaps you use headphones/headset? If you do, I'd pick a LCD w/o speakers built into it.
Speakers built into monitors are like laptop speakers...they all suck.
I need new speakers (my puppy chewed my cords) but I intend to buy a surround sound, not use those. That makes sense, though. Even if I shut them off it opens the door to side noise.
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I'd take a look at Toads Mwave build. you might get more for less. Only thing I dont like is the power supply. Its outstanding for 2 yrs ago. It's a single 49@ 12V rail. Compare that to the OCZ (SLI) (http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewproduct.asp?PID=PW500-OCZ&updepts=PS-600WP&DNAME=Power+Supply+%2D+500W+%2D+695W+) that "guarantees" you 72@'s however you need them over 4 rails and has an unconditional 3 yr warranty.
The true draw on the OZC will be limited by configuration but it'll easily exceed the 49@ total and is availablr across 4 12V rails vs 1. Buying any single 12V rail PS is a mistake at this point.
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Looks really good to me. Don't know much about mainboards though. I like what fulmar had to say about the speakers on the display. However, I've heard Acer is a good flat panel monitor.
You may be able to get a little cheaper Ram too. I use Crucial Ballistix and they seem to work fine. I only paid around 50 bucks after rebate for 2 gig.
I'm kinda waiting on what everyone else will say. I may build an Intel machine.
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Crikey 1.45 dollars for euro.. Your part prices start to look half free to me.
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8800 cards have come down in price, it will blow away the 8400